86. Aman discusses strategy

Aman returned to their inn and called the girls over. Absentmindedly, he somehow forgot about their new member, Ethan. Naturally, Ethan, made himself useful and appeared anyway.

"This is the area of the demon lord. We don't really know where the keep is, so we have to find it. But it's covered in magical fog. Raven, does your skill work through magical fogs?" Aman opened the map from Lord Julius Northengard on a large table. The innkeeper wanted to tell him off for making the inn as if their base of operations, but Ethan quickly flipped a coin over and he naturally shut up.

It was a small interaction only Kiara and Raven noticed. Raven looked back at the hero, a little surprised, but shrugged. "I don't know. My scouting abilities are able to pierce through some types of magical illusions, but it's hard to say how strong these magical illusions are."

"I see. In that case we will bring you anyway. Right now, we could probably split into two scouting teams. Myself, Raven, Sofia, and Bianca. I'm the hero, I think I should be able to use my light abilities to pierce the fog. The other team will be Hannah, Wynn and Nysta. Kiara will stay back in the city to help train the guards."

Ethan coughed.

"Ah. Uh- Ethan, would you like to join my team?" Aman offered.

"Your team? I think Hannah's team could use an additional member." Ethan said. "Four each, since Kiara's going to be staying back to support the city's defenses. In truth, I think Hannah and Sofia should stay back as well, unless they happen to know some magic that goes with their weapons."

Sofia gulped, and shook her head. "Ethan's right. If these haunted woods will be filled with magical creatures, I will not be of much help. I will stay back to work with the local troops. I met some of them as a platoon Commander before, I should be able to train with them and ensure they are in good shape."

Hannah had the second strongest blessing as the heroine, so she didn't agree. "I'll be fine."

Aman frowned, but nodded. "So It's me, Raven and Bianca, then Hannah, Wynn and Nysta."

"Yeah. But honestly, Aman, you count as three individuals because you are the hero. Your powers are so strong that you're like multiple fighters in one. Even if I go with Hannah, we may not even keep up." Ethan said, indirectly praising the hero's competence. Somehow, Aman blushed at the praise. At his heart he was still a young adult that didn't receive much adoration in his youth.

"Ah. I- I guess you're right. Then Ethan will go with Hannah and team."

***

As expected, none of the mages were interested in venturing into the demon territory, and so, Aman would have to travel and explore the demon lands without help. So, while rest of the party went about their daily affairs preparing for the trip, Kiara and Sofia walked the streets of Northengard.

Then Kiara's communication crystal buzzed. She gulped, and bowed to Sofia. "Sofia, I've got to go somewhere for a bit, alright?"

Sofia shrugged. She didn't think too much about it. "Okay sure. See you tonight."

Kiara walked to a quiet corner, and then tapped the communication crystal. "-yes?"

"When is the hero leaving for the demon lands?" Edmund asked through the communication crystal, fully aware of what Ethan was up to.

"Ah- tomorrow."

"Fantastic. Then your inn will be unoccupied during this time. I will meet you there."

"But- there's one of my teammates, Sofia, she will be around too."

"Don't worry about it. I'll deal with her." Edmund answered. With Ethan trying his get his hands on the other girls, Edmund decided it was worth it try and corrupt Sofia as well. He would need to figure out what was Sofia's weakness and latch on to it. There must be a weakness somewhere, if not, he would find way to tempt them.

It was fairly obvious to Edmund by now that all the ladies of the hero party have exceptional desire. The way Hannah wanted him to massage her shoulders and even though she said they were not doing anything naughty, her mind was clearly thinking about them. She even masturbated afterwards. The goddesses themselves were setting up the heroines to fail by making them so thirsty.

So, Sofia. Edmund wondered what the best way to get to know Sofia, but then realized she was a Commander in an army. He decided to bribe some of his old friends to get details of Sofia's personal friends and family. If there are some things he could use to blackmail her, that would be ideal.

First, he could start with some aphrodisiacs and dirty dreams. Dirty dreams could probably set the scene for Sofia to slowly come to terms with her desires, and then, offer the same old massage trick to get up close and personal.

***

The heroes set out, and Ethan was in the same party as Hannah, Wynn and Nysta. A dragon mage, a tank, and a priest. A strange combination.

Ethan immediately noticed all three of them were tense. Hannah and Wynn didn't like each other much, ever since Wynn made Aman touch her breasts. Hannah clearly still remembered that incident, and so she looked uncomfortable. Wynn, on the other hand, didn't think she did anything wrong, but the journey wore on her. The constant stimulation throughout the journey didn't help, and only amplified her frustration. Nysta, on the other hand, often said strange things that made everyone uncomfortable, and unlike the others, seemed to embrace the thoughts as the goddesses' will.

As a part dark healer and dark knight, his healing powers were stronger, and the nature of dark healing was in doing subtle things to a person's body while healing. If the girls gave him access to their bodies through healing, he could gradually weave in certain types of magic and curses that would make them more sensitive.

The team was incredibly quiet, and without the hero, they were hardly a team.

"So, where should we start. We're headed this direction." Ethan said as he looked at his copy of the map. Aman would head out in the other direction, and the entire scouting trip could take a week. It's enough for Edmund to cause trouble back home, or come over to harass the girls together.

Wynn walked over to look at the map. "Let's go here."

Hannah frowned. "We should start from the far end and work our way back."

Wynn looked at Hannah, and didn't seem too happy with it. "Says the tank that has not much magical sense. Why'd you insist in joining us if the hero isn't around anyway?"

"-I'm joining this team to keep all of us safe, so don't say things like that." Hannah countered.

"You're only doing this because Aman told you to." Wynn decided to wage war, for some weird reason.

"Are you trying to provoke me, woman?" Hannah stared.

Nysta looked bored, as if she was waiting for the argument to end. So Ethan coughed. "Excuse me."

"New guy, you stay out of this." Hannah shouted.

"Oh. So, there's seniority because you joined the party first, is that it?" Wynn countered. "Ethan, you can be on my side."

Ethan smiled. There was no need to play peacemaker, so he decided to go with it. Some chaos was good. "Oh. Okay. So, what should we do, Wynn?"

"Let's start exploring this way." Wynn suggested. "You alright with my idea, Nysta?"

Nysta shrugged. "Anything."

"Alright, so that's two for my idea, Nysta who says anything goes, and you're against me." Wynn looked at Hannah. "So, are you coming with my idea or not?"

"It's wasting time." Hannah countered. "If we start from the far end, we cut up some traveling time."

"The difference isn't much. We can sprint back in a day." Wynn countered.

"If we're at full strength!"

Wynn looked at Ethan. "What do you like, Ethan?"

"I'll go with Wynn's idea. We have two healers, we should be fine."

"Two?" Hannah asked. "You're a healer?"

"Part-healer." Ethan said. "Is that a problem?"

Hannah frowned. "You feel slimy as hell. I'm not letting you heal me."

Ethan smiled. "If you say so."

***